OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 77, 18 April 1996
HUNGARIAN RADIO, TV ON BRINK OF BANKRUPTCY. The managements of Hungarian
Radio and TV are preparing for drastic austerity measures as the
institutions have reached virtual bankruptcy, Hungarian dailies reported
on 18 April. While consultations are taking place with the Prime
Minister's Office, Hungarian Radio and TV Board Chairman Mihaly Tamas
Revesz said on 17 April that a total of 4.5 billion forints ($30
million) in "fast aid" would be justifiable for Hungarian Radio,
Hungarian TV, and the TV satellite channel, Duna TV. Hungarian Radio's
financial data reveal that the institution faces a 800 million forint
debt, while its deficit could reach 3 billion forints by the end of
1996. State subsidies only cover 5% of the radio's expenditures, and not
more than half of its funds come from advertisers and sponsors. --
Zsofia Szilagyi
[As of 12:00 CET]
Compiled by Jan Cleave

date=4/17/96
type=correspondent report
number=2-195867
title=Hungary / g-i's (l only)
byline=Wayne Corey
dateline=Vienna
content=
voiced at:
Intro: Hungary is about to gain a bigger peace dividend from the
end of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. V-o-A Central European
correspondent Wayne Corey reports American soldiers in Southern
Hungary, who support U-S troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina, can now
visit Budapest, and an un-popular U-S military ban on alcoholic
consumption has been lifted.
Text: After enduring an un-usually hard winter in Hungary,
three-and-one-half-thousand American soldiers are finally getting
a break.
In addition to the belated arrival of spring weather, the U-S
troops, based at Taszar airfield and in the small town of
Kaposvar are now being allowed to visit Budapest.
The unpopular ban on alcoholic consumption among the soldiers is
being lifted, too. The U-S army has decided its troops in
Hungary need a chance to relax.
The restaurants, bars, and nightclubs in the busy Hungarian
capital are about to experience an influx of young American
military men, anxious to escape from their dreary bases for a few
days of rest and recreation.
Some of the American soldiers may want to attend performances at
Budapest's ornate opera house on the Danube river front or to
take a leisurely river cruise.
Others may choose another option available soon -- to relax in
the sun with their family members from Germany at lake Balaton,
Hungary's main resort area.
Wherever they go, the U-S troops will, probably, spend enough
money to put smiles on the faces of Hungarian businessmen and
women.
Some Hungarians have been grumbling that they have not yet seen a
real peace dividend from the end of the war in the former
Yugoslavia.
Merchants in BAsnia also still want to see some free-spending
American soldiers. But, the poor and battered cities of Bosnia
have little to offer, and security for visiting soldiers could be
a problem.
Rather than let them loose in Bosnia, the U-S army is permitting
some of its peacekeeping troops there to visit their families in
Germany. (Signed)
neb/wc/jwh/rae
17-Apr-96 1:47 pm edt (1747 utc)
nnnn
source: Voice of America